winter fix npower - good deal

jalexa

lindahf1 wrote: »

a colleague at work is saying i should go for a variable fixed contract...

Err... not sure what you mean by that:think:, although I undertstand your concern.

If you look more closely at the Edf Fixed Price 2014 terms and conditions you will see that the early termination charges reduce each year, to zero in the final year.

lindahf1

a variable contract versus a fixed capped one as when i look on the comparrison websites the fixed capped ones are showing i would save less then variable rate.

Pincher

lindahf1 wrote: »

a variable contract versus a fixed capped one as when i look on the comparrison websites the fixed capped ones are showing i would save less then variable rate.

Conservative - Fixed

Labour - Variable

Liberal Democrats - Capped

I am in the Variable Party, pleased to get yor vote.

lindahf1

i called npower and the woman i spoke to kept calling me mrs! and then insisted on telling the winter fix was a good price because the prices might go up! i tried to tell her that there was other fixed/capped offers that were better then they were offering.

so i am at a loss as most deals seem to end december 2012 and i am getting conflicting advise as the person who told me to go variable said you don't want it to end them and i will have to renogiate this time next year!? i told him you can't do this with domestic as he deals with business usage.

i sent them an email yesterday complaining about the treatment when i called but no one has called or emailed. Find it upsetting really as other people seem able to negoiate deals etc. Maybe they don't want my custom.

pappyon

I am on the npower sol15 tariff

I have my gas and electricity readings for the past year and they are totally accurate. I worked out my gas and electricity and the amount of kW h used and then went to the npower winter fix site and got a quote for this new tariff.

They told me in the quote I would save £236.59 in total in a year including the £100 direct debit payment and the other bribes.

I can assure anybody who is interested that my saving compared to what it cost me last year in gas and electricity is only £56.29 and that is without me deducting the £100 bonus we got for paying by direct debit.

They should be exposed and if I knew how to go about it I would!

jalexa

pappyon wrote: »

I am on the npower sol15 tariff

I have my gas and electricity readings for the past year and they are totally accurate. I worked out my gas and electricity and the amount of kW h used and then went to the npower winter fix site and got a quote for this new tariff.

They told me in the quote I would save £236.59 in total in a year including the £100 direct debit payment and the other bribes.

I can assure anybody who is interested that my saving compared to what it cost me last year in gas and electricity is only £56.29 and that is without me deducting the £100 bonus we got for paying by direct debit.

Sign Online 15 must be a year or two old, possibly "matured", probably "guaranteeed discount" (or variable) tariff and possibly currently subject to notice of increase. "Winter Fix" is a "fixed price" tariff, fixed until 31/3/2013. You are comparing apples and oranges and I'm not even convinced you are doing that accurately.

As an existing NPower customer either the quote should have been "tailored" or the saving would have been qualified by asterisks.

Rather than relying on a "quote" you would be better checking a Consumer Focus accredited website using your actual annual consumption. I tried but Sign Online 15 must be so old it wasn't listed.

lindahf1

i got so confused and fed up with all the conflicting information that i signed the npower fix wrongly or not and i will negotiate in 2 years time as the contract ends 31st march 2013.
I was on the sign oline 15 before this but most comparrision sites didn't have this apart from www.energyhelpline.com
thanks to the people who replied its very confusing. I hope it gets easier :rotfl:in the future

backfoot

Seems like a very strange choice given all the advice you have received on the thread.:eek:

jalexa

lindahf1 wrote: »

...its very confusing. I hope it gets easier :rotfl:in the future

I'm not going to diss you for finding a very confusing situation ... confusing. It's Consumer Focus et al who should consider that a fail.:(

But for your future benefit (and others) there is one thing you need to be aware of come March 2013. You tariff is a "deferred discount":eek: tariff. This means that there is recurring £100 bonus paid annually in arrears. Or to put that differently, you forfeit £100 if you do not complete a 12 month period of custom:(. You were already a NPower customer *probably* already on a "deferred discount":eek: tariff. Only you can find out if you forfeited your last "12 month" period or if NPower continued the 12 month period into your Winter Fix tariff. The importance of knowing that is knowing when your current 12 month period ends.

Perhaps I have (unintentionally) confused you further but my advice for others (as it was to you in an earlier post) is beware "deferred discount":eek: tariffs if you do not understand the circumstances that the "deferred discount:eek:" might be forfeited.

Commonly tariffs from NPower and Atlantic feature "deferred discount":eek:.

keith1950

Hi lindahf1, Winter Fix is the same price as their standard tariff so they must be quite confident that prices are not going to rise too far and that even if they do they will fall back during the lifetime of the tariff.

I switched to two fixed/capped tariffs during April/May and 'on my useage' Winter Fix is over £260 dearer.

Fixing is all about getting the timing right and at this stage of the cost cycle it 'might' be wiser to just go for the cheapest variable tariff and 'ride out the storm'.

It is a gamble, but unless you fix at the right time it can end up costing you more during the lifetime of the fix..